Fukue
by Aruki-Soruyo
Summary: "So?" "So what?" "What did you think?" "Think of what?" "Don't play dumb. I'm asking you what did you think of practice?" "Oh," She said before cupping her cheeks with her hands and gushing exaggeratedly. "Kyaa Yukio-senpai, you were so cool I fell for you all over again " Thwack! "Ow…"
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**

* * *

_The lights shined upon the court as the sound of heavy breathing echoed silently throughout the court. _

_The sweat glistened on her forehead as it trickled down to her chin. Her heart pounding in sync with the thumping of the orange ball beside her. _

_A confident smirk appears upon her lips as she easily maneuvers around her opponents. Step after step the hoop grows closer and she jumps. _

_Her body soars in the air as she slams the ball forcefully into the hoop as the buzz filled the entire court. _

_She could hear the crowd cheering her name with enthusiasm._

_"Fukue!"_

_"Fukue!"_

_"Fuku-"_

"-e!"

"-ukue!"

"Damn it, Fukue! Get your ass up before I drag you up!"

Her eyes snapped opened in an instant, and she found herself gazing into a pair of narrowed slate-grey eyes above her.

"Oh morning, Yuki-chan~," she greeted as she sat up from her nap rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes.

Yukio's eyebrow twitched in irritation at his childhood friend's carefree manner before digging his fist into her skull.

"It's already lunchtime, you idiot!" He shouted as he decided to put her into a headlock next. "And how many times have I told you not to call me Yuki-chan!"

Feeling her life slipping away before her eyes, Fukue quickly tries to placate the angry teen.

"Sorry, Yukio…" She wheezed as she slaps the ground in surrender. "Old habits die hard you know?"

Yukio sighed as he released her and sat down. "You're already in your third year. You shouldn't be ditching your classes for a nap on the roof."

"Maa, maa~ No need to get all worked up, Yukio. Ditching class once in a while doesn't hurt anyone," Fukue replied with a relaxed smile as she watched the him take out a piece of bread.

Yukio scoffed, "Keep thinking like that and you'll find yourself repeating your last year."

Fukue 'hmm'd' in response and swiped a piece of bread from his bag earning herself an irritated glance from her friend before changing the topic.

"So how are your new members this year?" Fukue asked as she bit into the yakisoba roll. "Did you recruit anyone good?"

"Most of them are pretty average guys, except one."

"Oh? Do tell~" Fukue grinned as she nudged him with her shoulder. He pushed her face away keeping her at an arms distance.

"Kise Ryouta. He's apparently from Teiko Junior High. Part of the prodigious group called the Generation of Miracles."

"'Generations of Miracles'? You mean that junior high team that took the championship three times in the row? That's great isn't it? Now you have another strong team member."

Yukio snorted. "That brat's ego is way over his head. He needs to learn how to respect his senpai and learn to cooperate with the team."

"And that's where the oh so wonderful captain of the team comes in, right~?"

"One day I'm gonna knock the sarcasm right out of you."

"Heh, you're always welcomed to try~"

He rolled his eyes and swallows the rest of his bread before opening another one. "Anyway, since you've transferred here, you've yet to join any clubs right?"

Fukue gave him a side glance before turning away. "What about it?"

"Why don't you become our manager then?" He offered. "You're more than knowledgeable about the sport, and being a pretty good player yourself, you could offer the members some sound advice."

She remained silent for a brief moment before giving him a cheeky grin, "You sure it ain't the fact that I'm the only girl you can talk to without turning into a sputtering puddle of scarlet goo~?"

"Wha-!" He sputtered turning red in aggravation. "Of course not, you idiot!"

"Hmm, sure it ain't~" Fukue smirked as she stood up, and walked to the exit. Her feet came to a stop in front of the door with her hand on the door knob. "Anyway, the bell's gonna ring soon. And us third-year students can't afford to miss class right? See ya later Yuki-chan~!"

"Why you little-! Using my own words against me!" Yukio growled, quickly shoving down the rest of bread and following his infuriating friend as the school bell began to chime.

"And don't call me Yuki-chan!"

* * *

Fukue yawned as she got up from her seat. Class was finally over and now she could finally go home and sleep some more! After all, one could never have too much sleep. She tossed her books into her bag before spotting a small English dictionary that belonged to a certain captain among the mix.

Deciding to return the dictionary, Fukue headed to the gymnasium. She silently opened the door and immediately spotted Yukio's back turned to her. She couldn't help but grin as she silently made her way up to him and casually slung an arm over his shoulder leaning her weight on him with their faces right beside each other.

"Hey Yuki-chan~" She greeted him cheerfully.

Yukio turned his face to the left in surprise before letting habit dictate his actions and elbowed the girl in the stomach in annoyance. "Don't call me Yuki-chan!"

Fukue clutched her stomach as she writhed in pain on the ground. "So…cruel…Yukio…."

Yukio turned to look at his team mates who decided to come see what the commotion was about.

Moriyama's eyes widened when he spotted the girl on the ground. "How could you hit a girl, Captain!? You're supposed to treat them gently!"

"She's an exception," Yukio grunted as he turned his face away indignantly.

"Are you okay?" Kise asked kneeling down in front of the girl and offering a hand. "Can you stand?"

"Uh…yeah. I'm fine." She replied as she accepted his hand and he pulled her up.

Kise's eyes widened when he finds himself staring up at the girl. Although he has worked with a number of tall models, never had he met a girl that was taller than himself. He mentally patted himself on the shoulder for resisting the slight urge to back away from her intimidating height, despite the fact that it was only a few centimeters.

The other members of the team stood beside Kise. They gazed at the tall girl with eyes full of curiosity, before staring expectantly at their captain.

Yukio let out an exasperated sigh at their penetrating gazes. "Fukue, these are my teammates. Introduce yourselves you guys."

"Hayakawa Mitsuhiro! It's nice to meet you senpai!" Hayakawa shouted enthusiastically.

"Hello. I'm Kobori Koji." Kobori greeted her with a nod.

"I'm Moriyama Yoshitaka," Moriyama winked. "I play basketball for cute ladies like you."

"Hi~ Kise Ryouta here. Nice to meet you!" Kise gave her a bright sparkly smile.

"Same here," Fukue smiled with a small wave. "I'm Ichimiya Fukue."

"So what's your relationship with our wonderful captain?" Moriyama asked with a mischievous grin. To be able to interact so casually with Kasamatsu Yukio without turning him into a red stuttering mess is not a sight that they see everyday.

"Well~" Fukue grinned slyly as she winked. "You could say we're as close as two people of the opposite gender could possibly be~"

The Kaijo regulars' jaws dropped. Their expressions ranging from confusion to shock to irritation to excitement in the order of their introduction. Yet despite their varied feelings, there was one question that seemed to echo in unison in their minds.

_So does that mean that their beloved captain who was bad at dealing with girls has finally grown up?!_

Yukio slapped her head. "Quit saying stupid things that could be misunderstood! We're just childhood friends! Child-Hood-Friends!"

Fukue rubbed the back of her head. "Jeez, no need to get all shy on me Yukio."

"I'm not being shy!" He shouted back, red-faced. "Anyway, who gave you guys permission to stop practicing?! Get back to work!"

The guys pouted (well just Kise and Moriyama really) before resuming practice.

"So what did you come here for?" Yukio asked after making sure that his teammates really did continue their practice. He turned to Fukue questioningly. "It's not everyday you decide to drop by."

"Oh yeah," Fukue pulled out the dictionary. "Thought I'd return this to you."

"Oh, thanks. Sorry for the trouble," Yukio said as he took the book. "Well, since you're here, why don't you stay and watch our practice?"

Fukue shrugged, and dropped herself on a nearby bench.

Guess it couldn't hurt to watch once in a while.

* * *

"So?"

"So what?"

"What did you think?"

"Think of what?"

"Don't play dumb. I'm asking you what did you think of practice?" Yukio said annoyed with her flippant behavior. Practice had just ended and they were walking home together since their houses were right beside each other.

"Oh," She said before cupping her cheeks with her hands and gushing exaggeratedly.

"Kyaa~ Yukio-senpai, you were so cool~ I fell for you all over again~"

_Thwack!_

"Ow…"

"You know that's not what I meant." Yukio said, removing his fist from her side.

"Jeez, you're so abusive," Fukue pouted with teary eyes while rubbing her side.

"It's called tough love," Yukio said without missing a beat. "Now talk to me seriously or I'll hit you again."

Fukue sighed closing her eyes for a minute before reopening them. "Well, overall they seem to be doing well. Their cooperation with each other's not bad and they seem to be doing well individually too."

"Moriyama's unorthodox shot was impressive," She nodded, eyes shining with admiration. "It's definitely a kind of shot you don't see anywhere else."

"Hayakawa and Kobori don't seem to have any impressive special skills, but they're good at what they do." She continued. "Kobori's defense would be quite difficult for most people to overcome and Hayakawa's explosive intensity definitely seems to help him at rebounding."

Yukio nodded. She was right on point with her assessment. "And? What about Kise?"

"Hmmm, Kise Ryouta… Well, to put it simply…." She started slowly.

"I don't like him."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. :3


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**

* * *

Yukio laid on his bed with his hands behind his head. His eyes trained on the ceiling in contemplation, recalling his conversation with his olive-haired childhood friend from earlier today.

_"'You don't like him…?" Yukio echoed in surprise. It's a first for him to hear her dislike someone upon first meeting._

_"Well, more accurately…" She said rubbing the back of her neck. "I dislike his way of basketball."_

_Yukio remained silent knowing that she had more to add._

_"The ability to copy other player's techniques," She frowned. "I just don't like it. Ain't it basically plagiarism?"_

_Yukio snorted. "You know as well as I do that it isn't uncommon for players to try and copy others."_

_"Well, I still don't like it," She grumbled weakly. "If I wanted to see those moves then I would like to see the real thing from the original player, not some stupid copy."_

_"Even when those copies are stronger than the real thing?" He questioned._

_Fukue nodded firmly. _

_She liked basketball for two specific reasons. One being the awe she feels when watching each player's unique style of basketball since no two people in the world were the same. _

_The other reason being… w__ell, it didn't really matter anymore._

_"But you could argue that the fact that he could copy techniques perfectly is unique in its own right," Yukio pointed out when she told him what she thought._

_Fukue frowned knowing that there was truth in his words._

_"I still don't like it though." She stubbornly stated before she entered her house._

Yukio sighed as he turned onto his side trying to fall asleep.

Even after knowing the girl for about eight years, he still couldn't understand her way of thinking.

* * *

With a forced grin on her face and a twitching eyebrow, Fukue faced the members of the Kaijo basketball team.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ichimiya," She greeted with a strained smile. "I'll be assisting you starting today."

So…

How exactly did she end up in this situation?

Well, let's rewind to a few hours ago…

...

_It was a cloudy grey day._

_The perfect kind of weather for a nap in bed..._

_…__but, in Fukue's case - a classroom, much to Takeuchi's dismay._

_His large frame loomed dangerously over the girl's sleeping form. Her head was buried into her arms, and her face had absolutely little to no care in the world that her drool has created a little puddle upon her desk._

_"Oi Ichimiya!" He roared._

_Fukue's head snapped up in a blink of an eye, her eyes alertedly scanning the classroom before returning to their sleepy state when they landed on her Japanese History teacher._

_"Muh…?" She yawned. "Yes…?"_

_Takeuchi's eye twitched in irritation. Really? She had the nerve to yawn at him? Students these days seriously showed no respect._

_"See me after class!" He said glaring before adding. "And if you dare skimp out like last time, I'll make sure you're on cleaning duty for the rest of the year."_

_He turned away in satisfaction when the girl flinched. _

_"Yes sir…"_

_…_

_Fukue sighed inwardly as she stood in front of Takeuchi who was seated as he lectured her._

_"-you understand how many-"_

_"-imes this has happened-"_

_"-since you've transferred he-?"_

_Oh no, this was not good. Barely a minute in and she was already starting to tune him out._

_"-sn't good-."_

_"-oing to affect-"_

_"-peat another year-"_

_"-ssisting the -sketball club-"_

_Fukue blinked. "Wait, could you repeat that?"_

_Takeuchi frowned. "I said that you will be assisting the basketball club if you want to make up for your negligence in your studies."_

_…__Eh?_

_..._

…And thus it brings her to her current situation - introducing herself to all the members of basketball club in an extremely forced manner.

She watched them begin practice, and dropped herself on the bench heaving a large sigh.

"That's one heavy sound of despair," a voice commented from above.

Fukue looked up to see Yukio looking down at her.

"Is this one of your schemes to get me to join the team?" She asked giving him a petulant glare.

Yukio scoffed crossing his arms. "Do you really think I would use those kinds of methods?"

She sighed. No, being the honest and straightforward guy he was, he wouldn't try to purposely create a situation to suit himself. If he had really wanted to force her into the club, he would just literally drag her there himself.

"Besides, you're the one who threw yourself in this situation," He added. "You reap what you sow."

Fukue groaned as she buried her face into her hands. All her days of skipping and sleeping in classes since the start of the school year have decided to come to bite her in the ass.

"Oh come on," Kise said smiling as he came up to them. "It can't be that bad being our manager."

"I beg to differ," She grumbled as propped her elbows on her thighs with her fingers laced together.

"And I'm not your manager. I'm just temporarily assisting you guys."

"Well, either way it's a great to finally have a girl in our club," Moriyama appeared on Yukio's right with his eyes practically sparkling.

"Anyway, since you're here, you better not do a half-assed job." Yukio cut in."So take it like a man!"

He slapped her back in encouragement before the three joined the rest of the team in practice.

Fukue rubbed her stinging back before getting up with a clipboard in hand.

_Guess I don't got much of a choice._

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Bee-!_

A slender hand reached out and slammed a fist over the snooze button before disappearing once more into the blanket.

_Ah, beautiful silence. _

Fukue snuggled deeper into the warmth the blanket shared with her before it was ripped away from her in an instant. Feeling the immediate chill fall over her, she desperately tried to will her body to become one with the bed in an attempt to warm her body once more.

"Oi Fukue! Get up!" Yukio shouted, holding up her blanket. "Don't tell me you already forgot that we have practice this morning?"

"I was hoping that was just some awful nightmare," Fukue groaned as she desperately buried her head into her pillow.

Yukio grabbed her uniform that was laying on the floor and tossed it at her. "Come on, get dressed or we'll be late for practice."

Fukue sighed as she sat up and promptly decided to remove her shirt on the spot causing her dark-haired friend to turn red and sputter something about indecency or something along those lines before slamming her door shut.

* * *

There were two things that the Kaijo regulars learned about Ichimiya Fukue since first meeting her.

One, she was a slacker. She rarely attended class and when she did, she often fell asleep.

Two, she seemed to have a masochistic streak. She often loved riling up their beloved short-tempered captain thus resulting in her being hit one way or another.

Therefore, you can imagine their shock when they find themselves being subjected to such ruthless training when she became their temporary assistant. Never did they think that she would take her role of helping them so seriously, especially since she seemed so unwilling in the beginning.

"Ok, take five!" Fukue shouted from the sidelines.

The regulars collapsed on the bench out of breath.

Kise sighed in relief after taking a gulp from his water bottle. "I never thought Ichimiya-senpai would be so merciless. "

"Yes!" Hayakawa chimed. "Ichimiya-senpai is abso[l]ute[l]y [r]uth[l][l]ess!"

"It was unexpected," Kobori nodded in agreement. "I never thought that she would end up being in charge of our training menu."

"Well, that's how she is," Yukio said wiping away his sweat with his towel. "She may be a slacker, but when it comes to basketball she can be as serious as any one of us."

Moriyama sighed in disappointment. "I was hoping that she would just be cheering for us cutely on the sidelines, and handing out our water bottles and towels."

Hearing their less then pleasant conversation about her, Fukue's eye twitched as she stood up.

"Break's over! Get back to practice!"

"Ehhhhhh?"

She sat back down still slightly annoyed by their nerve to speak as if she weren't there.

_Vrrr…vrrrr…._

Feeling the bench rumbling, she turned to see a cellphone vibrating.

_Huh, Takeuchi-sensei must've forgotten it when he left for some staff meeting._

Picking it up and accepting the call without any hesitation, she answered, "Hello?"

There was a slight pause at the other end before a voice spoke up, "Umm…This _is _Takeuchi-san's phone, correct?"

"Yeah, it is."

* * *

Aida Riko blinked in surprised when she heard a feminine voice answer her call. It was not the kind of voice she was expecting from a middle-aged man, so she couldn't help but feel the need to reconfirm just in case.

"Umm…This _is _Takeuchi-san's phone, correct?"

"Yeah, it is," was her reply. "Do you need something from our coach?"

"Ah, yes. My name is Aida Riko, the coach for the Seirin Basketball Team," Riko began. "And I was hoping to ask your coach if we could set up a practice match between our teams."

"Hmm, sure~" came a rather carefree response.

Riko blinked at the immediate answer.

"Is it okay for you to accept my proposal so easily?" She asked carefully. It sounded a bit too easy to get a match from a school as well known as Kaijo.

"Shouldn't you ask your coach for permission?"

The voice over the phone chuckled in response. "Don't worry about. I'll make sure the coach accepts the match."

"Great! Thank you, " Riko said relieved.

"No problem. I'll text you the date after talking with my coach."

"Got it. Then, we'll see you soon."

She hung up.

Riko grinned. Mission accomplished~

She put away her cellphone and began skipping down the hall in delight before coming to a temporary halt in realization.

"I never got her name."

* * *

After hanging up the phone, Fukue quickly inputs Aida's number into her own phone.

She then spots Takeuchi returning from his meeting, and she waved vigorously with the cell phone in hand.

When Takeuchi spots the phone and the grin on the assistant's face, he inwardly groaned. This could not be good.

"Coach~ I got some _great_ news for you~!"

* * *

A/N: And that's the end of chapter two~ Thank you for reading! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**

* * *

Fukue hummed happily as she left her classroom. The coach had accepted the practice match, albeit reluctantly. He wasn't too happy about accepting a match from a team that was formed only a year ago, but putting his feelings aside, it was decided that the practice match would take place in a few days.

Making her way to practice, she spots a familiar tuft of blonde hair walking in a direction that was _definitely_ not to their destination after school.

_Looks like a certain someone has the nerve to play hooky today._

Fukue plastered a dark smile upon her face as she silently made her way up to him and swung her arm around his shoulders.

Kise's body froze as he felt the weight on his shoulders. His head turned mechanically as he faced an unnatural smile on the face of a certain tall girl.

"So, Kise…" Fukue drawled as she beamed at him. "Where're you headed?"

"Err…" Kise stammered, sweat forming above his brows. "T-to practice?"

"Oh?" She said still not releasing her hold on him, if anything it tightened. "Last time I checked this wasn't the direction to practice."

"I-is that so?" Kise's face paled as he racked his brain for a plausible excuse. "W-well, you see. Truth is that I got a call from my manager asking that I got a last minute photo shoot."

"Photo shoot?" Fukue blinked. Oh yeah, she forgot he was a model.

"If it's work, then it can't be helped," She said, relaxing her grip on his shoulders.

_Saved by his job._ Kise sighed in relief, but it was short-lived when he finds himself gasping for air from a choke-hold. His head turned to look at the girl in alarm.

Her expression was far from pleasant to say the least.

"…Is that really what you thought I'd say?" She asked glaring daggers. "Does this face look like it gives any fucks about your job?"

Kise shook his head furiously, his face quickly turning blue.

Nope. No it did not.

She loosened her grip once more, and Kise gratefully inhaled the air. She beamed at him again. "So, why don't you tell me the _real _reason for ditching practice?"

Knowing that his life would end then and there if he fibbed again, Kise spoke. "I wanted to visit Seirin."

"Seirin?" Fukue repeated as she finally relinquished her hold. Their next opponent?

Kise nodded rubbing his sore neck. "I remembered that a former teammate from Teiko is a student there so I thought I'd pay him a visit before the match."

"I see," She said with a thoughtful look on her face. If the team was going to go up against a former member of the Generation of Miracles then it wouldn't hurt to go take a look.

"Alright, I'll let you go," Fukue conceded receiving a grateful look from Kise.

"But, I'll be going with you."

* * *

"So this is Seirin," Fukue uttered as she stared at the tall buildings. "So now we gotta find the gymnasium."

"Oh, it should be just around that corner," Kise said walking ahead of her.

She followed his lead. "And you know this how?"

"I asked one of the students we walked passed," He replied as he entered the building.

Unfortunately that is as far as he gets before he is swarmed by Seirin girls asking for his autograph. Fukue shook her head feeling sorry for the blonde, but not enough to actually help him out.

Instead she maneuvered around the fangirls to enter the gym. Once inside she spots a girl standing in front of a group of boys that looked stunned at the sudden appearance of their next opponent.

She walks up to greet her. "Hello, you must be Coach Aida, correct? We spoke on the phone a while ago."

Riko's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden appearance of tall girl.

"Yes… I am," She answered as she quickly examined the girl in front of her from head to toe. A height that exceeds 182 cm with an athletic build that far surpassed the average player. Her form was far from what anyone would expect from a manager. "And you are….?"

"Ichimiya Fukue, a temporary assistant of the Kaijo basketball team," She answered as she scanned the group before her. _A total of eleven people including the coach. Is this all their members?_

The group members blinked. _Temporary assistant?_

"Oi, don't you get tired of saying that all the time, senpai? 'Temporary assistant,'" Kise asked walking up from behind her.

Fukue glanced at him, "Finally done wasting time?"

"Sorry, sorry. But I can't exactly just ignore them, you know?" He said looking a bit sheepish before turning to the group.

Hyuga looked at the duo baffled at their sudden appearance at their school. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, when I heard that our practice match will be with Seirin, I remembered that it was the school Kurokocchi joined. So I came to say hi." Kise answered before beaming at Kuroko. "Since we were the ones getting along the best in junior high, right?"

"Not particularly," Kuroko refuted without hesitation.

"So mean!" Kise cried, shocked by his blunt rejection.

Fukue glanced at the light-blue haired boy curiously. This was Kise's former teammate? She didn't remember seeing him in any magazines that featured Teiko Junior High.

"Incredible…" A voice mumbled from among the group.

Fukue and Kise turned to look at the brown-haired member flipping through a magazine. "Though he started basketball his second year of junior high, his exceptional physical ability and sense got him on the Teiko team as a regular in a heartbeat. While he has less experience than the other four, he's a rapidly improving all-rounder."

Only two years!? The members stared at the blonde model in shock.

"Furihata, Where exactly did you get that?" Hyuga wondered slightly disturbed.

"Don't worry about the details," Furihata reassured him absentmindedly.

"No, well… This article is exaggerating, really." Kise rubbed the back of his head abashedly. "I'm glad I was called one of the Generation of Miracles, but in other words, that just means I was the weakest of the bunch…"

Fukue's eyes narrowed. Loathe as she was to admit it, Kise was strong. If he was admitting that he was the worst amongst them, than it was difficult imagining just how strong the others were. It was a chilling thought…but it excited her all the same.

"That's why Kurokocchi and I were picked on quite often, right?" Kise continued as he smiled at the shorter boy.

"I wasn't particularly picked on," Kuroko deadpanned. "Actually, could you please stop making up things?"

"What!? It was just me!?" Kise sobbed, but his eyes widened when a basketball was shot at him. His reflexes kicked in and he stopped the ball with a hand letting the ball bounce a few times before he held it with his other hand.

"Kagami/Kagami-kun!?" Hyuga and Riko exclaimed in shock.

Fukue frowned as she looked at the so-called 'Kagami.'

"Sorry to mess up your reunion after a long time, but you didn't come all the way here just for a greeting, right?" Kagami grinned predatorily. "How about being my opponent for a bit, ikemen-kun?"

"Ehh… Even if you say that, so suddenly…" He spoke slowly as he paused to contemplate. "Ah, you, just before…."

Kise returned the ball to him.

"Alright, let's do this. As thanks for showing me something good."

* * *

"Give us Kurokocchi."

Kise blinked as he glanced at his senpai. "Eh?"

"That's what you said to them, wasn't it?" Fukue looked back at him.

The two of them stood in front of the street waiting for the walk sign to light up. Their visit to Seirin ended shortly after Kise had scored a point.

"Ah," Kise nodded, sipping his canned coffee. "I did."

"is he really that talented?" She questioned curiously before wiggling her pinky with a mischievous smirk. "Or was he an ex?"

Kise spat out his drink.

Say what?

Ex?

Trying to regain his dignity, Kise quickly denied it. "No, he really is talented! And I'm only interested in girls!"

"Oh?" The smirk dropped from her lips. "What a shame."

Kise sighed in relief that he quickly cleared that up. "What made you think otherwise anyway, senpai?"

"Hmm, I've never seen him in magazine interviews," She sipped her milk tea before adding. "And you seemed so insistent on him transferring to our school like some overly attached ex-boyfriend."

Kise's eyebrow twitched. There's no way that he was that bad…right? "I think you're exaggerating a bit too much senpai."

Fukue shrugged. "So who exactly is he?"

Kise's expression brightened. "Kuroko Tetsuya. He's the sixth member of our group."

"You mean the phantom sixth man?" The light changed and they began to walk across the street.

Kise nodded. "I seriously respect him, you know? I've never seen anyone like him."

He downed the rest of his drink and tossed it into a nearby trash can. "That's why I don't understand. Why didn't he choose a stronger school?" Winning was everything to them when they were junior high. What exactly changed him?

"Perhaps he found something more valuable than winning," Fukue suggested as she played with a strand of her wavy hair.

Kise whipped his head around in confusion. "What could possibly be worth more than winning?"

Fukue stopped and grabbed his wrist, and Kise stopped at the sudden action. She looked straight into his eyes, and Kise found himself unable to look away from her unwavering gaze.

"Maybe what he found is something you've forgotten."

She released his wrist and walked past him, leaving Kise stunned. When he recovered and looked at his hand, she was already a decent distance away.

"Oi senpai! You're not supposed to give other people your empty can!"

* * *

**Omake:**

Kise laid in bed as he contemplated Fukue's words from earlier today.

_"Maybe what he found is something you've forgotten."_

Something he has forgotten? Nothing came to mind. It was always just winning, winning, winning in junior high. Was there really something else?

"Oh yeah!" Kise bolted up, and grabbed his phone to call her number.

"_Hello?_"

"Senpai, I just remembered something!"

"_What?_"

"We ditched practice today without telling Kasamatsu-senpai! What should we do?!"

"_…Say our last prayers, Kise._"

"…"

Yeah, it was official.

They were so dead.

* * *

A/N: End of third chapter~ Thank you for reading~ :3


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**

* * *

When Fukue arrived to school the next day she found Kise faced down on the ground unconscious with his soul slipping away. The sight sent chills up her spine and instinct told her to run immediately but the moment she turned, she came face to face with a pair of livid slate eyes.

"So…" He growled with waves of anger rolling off him. "If you've got a good reason for skipping yesterday's practice, you better speak up now."

But before she could utter even a single word, she was already losing oxygen from his death grip. It wasn't until a few minutes later did she have the opportunity to actually explain herself. Thankfully, the captain had let them off without punishment when she informed him that the reason that they left practice was to scout their opponent. Although, the initial damage that he had inflicted was punishment enough in her eyes.

Fukue sighed tapping her pen on her clipboard as she watched the club members play practice matches against each other. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall in the gymnasium. Today was supposed to be the match with Seirin.

Seeing that her gaze was constantly flickering to the clock, Yukio walked up to her. "So? When are they supposed to get here?"

_Vrr..._

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and glanced at the newly arrived text. "Looks like they're here. I'll go out to meet them."

Hearing this, Kise perked up in interest. "Senpai! I'll come too!"

He quickly grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the building before any objections can be made. Their quick exit left the captain staring at them blankly.

"What's got him all worked up?"

* * *

"Hey guys!" Kise greeted as he ran up to the mass of black and white uniforms with Fukue in tow. "This place is big, so I thought I'd come get you."

Fukue pulled her wrist out of his grip once he came to a stop and she walked up to the caramel-haired coach. "It's good to see you again, Coach Aida."

"Same here. Although, it's fine if you just called me Aida, Ichimiya-san," Riko smiled staring up at her.

"Ah, this is our captain, Hyuga Junpei," she motioned to the dark haired teen with glasses and introduced the rest of the members behind them.

Fukue gave them a nod of acknowledgement. "Welcome to Kaijo."

Kise walked up to Kuroko. "Kurokocchi~ Ever since you turned me down so easily, I've been crying myself to sleep every night, geez…" He said wiping away artificial tears, not noticing the slightly disturbed looks on the other members' faces. "Not a single girl has ever turned me down, you know?

Fukue raised an eyebrow at his pathetic display. _And he wondered why I thought that Kuroko was his ex. Does he not hear himself speak?_

"…Would you stop saying things like that?" Kuroko said unfazed causing the blonde to stop his pretense.

Kise narrowed his eyes and turned to Kagami who seems to be the reason for his rejection. "That's why I'm interested to know more about the guy who's making Kurokocchi say those things."

"I don't care much about being called the Generation of Miracles, but I can't ignore such an obvious challenge." He continued as he walked passed Kagami before coming to a stop. "I'm not mature enough to let it slide. Sorry, but I'm going to crush you with everything I have."

Kagami smirked in anticipation at the challenge. He was more than willing to accept a match with a member of the Generation of Miracles after hearing how strong they were.

"Bring it on."

* * *

"Ah, you're here. Welcome, I'm Coach Takeuchi." Takeuchi greeted as he glanced at the group that approached. "So? Which one of you is the coach?"

"That's me," Riko spoke up with a smile.

"You? You aren't the manager?" Takeuchi pointed in bewilderment causing her smile to drop briefly.

"Coach, don't you know that pointing at someone is rude?" Fukue muttered before looking away innocently when he shot her a glare.

Despite the slight insult, Riko confidently walked up to formally greet him. "I'm Coach Aida Riko. We look forward to playing with you today!"

"Uh, yeah," He replied with a bit of hesitation. _Isn't she just a high school student?_ Although he had nothing against female coaches, he couldn't help but doubt the ability of one so young.

"So, um…what is this?" Riko asked as she looked around the court. There was a green net dividing the court in half with players practicing on their opposite side. Some of the members had stopped to stare at their arrival.

"It's just as you see. Today's match is just a light warm-up for our team," Takeuchi grunted as he turned to look at the non-regulars practicing. "There won't be enough to learn from this game to make it worth watching for the guys sitting out. So we're having the other members continue practice as usual."

He faced them once more. "But even though I say it's a warm-up, it's still our regular members so please don't get yourselves defeated by triple the points."

His derogatory words caused the members to twitch and glare in anger.

Fukue sighed. _Really_ _coach?_ Telling them that they were barely worth his time and completely underestimating them? She gave them a small apologetic bow before following the coach to the bench.

"Hm?" Takeuchi stopped as he spotted Kise changing into his uniform. "Kise, why are you wearing your uniform? You're not playing."

"Eh?" Kise looked at him in confusion.

"If you played it wouldn't be a match anymore," Takeuchi sighed. "Even if we've scouted aces from all over, you're on a whole level of your own."

"Wha- Wait, Coach!" Kise quickly glanced around in panic. Singling people out never helped anyone. Man, he could already feel the intensifying glares from Seirin. "Stop saying things like that. Seriously!"

Takeuchi just shook his head and walked away ending their conversation.

Fukue watched as Kise jogged up to Seirin in apology before sitting down on the bench.

* * *

"Let the practice game between Seirin High and Kaijo High begin," The referee announced loudly and the players lined up facing each other in front of him.

"Err…well…" He looked at the at the Seirin members standing on the left. "I said we're starting so... Seirin, would you mind getting your fifth player on the court quickly?"

"Um, all five us are here."

He turned and spotted a light blue haired player near him and recoiled in shock as did all the other Kaijo members. The pale skinned boy caused a wave stunned murmurs.

"Woah…what the hell is that guy?"

"He's got no presence."

"He's one of their starters?"

"He was right in front of me and I didn't even notice him," Kobori spoke in disbelief and looked to his captain. "What about you Kasamatsu?"

"Me neither," Yukio agreed just as perturbed as the rest of the members. _How the hell can one guy have such little presence?_

"This is ridiculous," Takeuchi said unimpressed, sitting on the bench with Kise and Fukue on his left. "After all their boasting, I thought they'd have some decent players."

"We'll see," Kise stared contemplatively at the players on the court. "Though, he might not be just a decent one." Someone like Kurokocchi was more than just decent.

Fukue said nothing as she watched the match begin. They formed a makeshift circle around the center of the court. Kobori and Kagami stood directly in the center with the referee beside them holding the basketball.

_If the winner of the match could be determined by school reputation alone, then Kaijo would be the obvious choice._

The whistle was blown and the referee threw the ball into the air. Kagami and Kobori jumped simultaneously but Kobori manages first contact and directs the ball toward Yukio.

"Alright," Yukio dribbles the ball as he pointed upward with his left hand. "Let's start by scoring once!"

_But…_

Yukio's eyes widened as the dribbling ball seemingly disappears from his fingertips. He quickly turns and chases the back of player 11. _Where'd he come from!?_

He easily caught up, but Kuroko smoothly passed the ball from his hand to Kagami's approaching form, who in turn rushed pass Yukio and slammed the ball into the hoop.

_Nothing is ever that simple._

Fukue's eyes widened as she watched the hoop break apart from the backboard.

"No way!"

"He destroyed the hoop!"

"You're kidding! I don't believe it!"

Riko approached Takeuchi doing her best to hide her glee and bowed. "I'm so sorry!"

"I'm sorry we broke you hoop," Kuroko apologized as he walked up to the coach with Kagami as well. "Since we can't play like this, could we use the full court?"

...

Kise let a small chuckle as he watched the non-regulars clean up the court. "Now that's what you call a beating."

"Huh?" Kagami looked at Kise.

"I've never seen the coach like that before." He grinned remembering the twitchy constipated look on the coach's face.

"You should tell him that's what he gets for underestimating us!" Kagami retorted.

"How much do you think a replacement hoop will cost?" Kuroko wondered as he walked away from them.

"Eh?!" Kagami gaped staring at Kuroko's retreating form. "We have to pay for that?" Sure, he had wanted to prove their skills to that sloven-looking coach, but he never really meant to break the hoop. Who would have known that one of the bolts was rusted?

Fukue's shoulders trembled as she did her best to withhold her own laughter. Really, that was _hilarious_. She'd never seen someone actually break a hoop before. Barely a minute into the game and she was already enjoying herself.

...

Kise enters the court in full uniform with a confident smile on his face. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"You're finally in," Kagami smirked in satisfaction with his hands on his waist. _It was about damn time._

"Such pressure now that he's finally in the game," Hyuga commented slightly unnerved. "You wouldn't think that guy is actually a model."

"He's not just putting on a show," Kuroko said cautiously. Model or not, Kise was a member of the Generation of Miracles. It would be a mistake to underestimate him. "He's the same inside."

"Kyaaa~ Kise-kun~!"

"Kise-kun, over here!"

"He's so hot!"

Heads turned toward the sound of the high-pitched commotion by the entrance.

"Huh? What's all that?" Hyuga looked startled at the cheering crowd of grey female uniforms.

"Oh, that? That happens every time he plays." Yukio closed his eyes in exasperation before running up and kicking Kise with ease. "How long are you gonna keep waving at them! I'll hit you!"

"Ow…" Kise groaned as he got back on his feet from the sudden blow. "You already hit me, Kasamatsu-senpai."

Ignoring his comment, Yukio narrowed his eyes as he leaned up close. "Do you understand what's going on, Kise? Who the hell is number 10?"

"Number 10?" Kise turned slightly to look at the red-head. "Oh, that's Kagami."

"Kagami?" Yukio frowned. "I've never heard of him."

"Anyway, forget about him," Kise spoke excitedly. "The guy who stole your ball, number 11… That's my teammate from Teiko, Kurokocchi. Isn't he amazing? Right, right?"

Yukio frowned. That number 11… He had come out of nowhere and taken the ball from him before he had time to react. With his ego slightly damage, Kise's overly happy response did nothing but annoy him; so he did what he usually does best and jabbed the blonde in the stomach.

"In any case, they gave us quite a greeting," He continued while looking carefully at Kagami. "It'd be rude if we didn't return the favor."

Once they resumed the match, Kaijo was on the offense. Yukio ran through the court and Hyuga blocked his path. In response, he bounced a pass between Hyuga's feet to Kise who easily mimicked Kagami's previous dunk. Unfortunately, it seemed like that was not enough to satisfy his captain, and the kick to his back told him as much.

"You idiot! You should've broken it!"

"Sorry!"

Fukue couldn't help but grin at their interaction. It was nice seeing someone other than herself be at the end of Yukio's violent tendencies once in a while.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing!?"

Fukue winced at the volume of coach's voice as she stood beside him. Seirin had called for a time out from the high-paced game, so the regulars were currently resting on the bench while enduring Takeuchi's deafening lecture.

"How many points are you gonna let them take?! Is the defense asleep!? Huh!?"

Kobori straightened up. "Sorry."

"Honestly, this isn't easy," Moriyama sighed leaning his elbows on his thighs.

"Yeah, that first year duo is brutal," Yukio agreed and looked at Kise. "You should be able to handle Kagami." He paused for a moment. "But what's with that invisible Kuroko guy?" His grumble caused a wide childish smile to spread across Kise's face.

"I know, right?" Kise beamed. "Kurokocchi's amazing right?"

"He is!" Fukue chimed in with a grin. "He's incredible! I've never seen anything like it!"

"You understand, don't you senpai!" Kise was delighted to know that someone acknowledged his former teammate.

Yukio could only stare dumbfounded at the duo as they continued to gush about number 11. It seriously felt like if he squinted hard enough, he could see some impenetrable pink aura with flowers sprouting around them.

_The hell?_

_What are they, the Kuroko fan club!?_

Having heard enough of their fangirling, he jabbed them both at their sides. "Enough! Why the hell are you two so happy?! You guys should be discussing ways to stop him, not spouting words of admiration!"

"Don't worry, senpai," Kise rubbed his side. "The balance will tip soon enough, because he has a weakness."

"A weakness?" Yukio's eyes widened.

Kise nodded. "His misdirection isn't something he can use for the whole 40 minutes."

"Misdi…what?" Yukio looked perplexed at the unfamiliar term.

"Misdirection," Kise repeated. "It's not like he's using magic or anything like that."

"He's basically directing your attention elsewhere, right?" Fukue looked at Kise.

He nodded as he held a basketball in one hand. "Even I can do it for a moment. Please look at me."

They focused on Kise's face before their eyes wandered to the basketball thrown into the air.

"See? You're not looking at me anymore," Kise observed as he continued. "Kurokocchi's using his exceptional observation skills to do this continuously, creating the illusion he disappeared so he can pass the ball around." He smiled as he added, "Not that he has to do anything special to have no presence. But the more he uses it, the more we get used to it, and its effect gradually decreases."

"I see…" Yukio muttered. "That's useful to know."

Fukue turned to look at Seirin briefly only to see Riko with her arm wound tightly around Kuroko's neck. _Are choke-holds the new trend these days?_ She mentally shook her head getting before turning back to the regulars.

"Anyway, chances are they'll be focused on blocking Kise, since they probably see him as the biggest threat," Leaning her weight on her left leg with her hand at her waist, she looked at the all the members with a smirk.

"So go show them that he's not the only one that they should be wary of."

* * *

With the time-out over, the players returned to the court. Kise finds himself blocked by a barricade of players as he dribbles the ball.

Yukio frowned at the scene. A box-and-one defense huh… It's just as Fukue had assumed. They're being wary of Kise so they have everyone following Kagami and aiming to stop Kise.

He ran and caught Kise's side pass and shot the ball into the hoop.

"Ooh, a sudden three-pointer!"

"Nice, Kasamatsu!"

"Are you looking down on Kaijou's regulars?" He glared. "There's a limit to how naive you can be."

As if following up that statement, Moriyama manages to block a pass from Kagami to Kuroko and scores as well. The match continues before it comes to a stop when the ball is knocked out of the court.

_Fwee!_

"Out of bounds! White ball!"

Fukue glanced at the score board. 25 to 33 with about two more minutes until the end of the first quarter. If they could continue at this pace and widen the gap some more than the match would lean in their favor.

Suddenly, the sound of laughter echoes loudly across the court, and she as well as everyone else turned to look at Kagami.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just so happy," Kagami said smiling with tears forming at the corner of his eyes from laughter. "It's been a long time since anyone's said that to me. I heard it all the time over there."

Kise looked at him in confusion. "Over there?"

"In America," Kagami answered.

"You lived in America?!" Kise looked at him in awe. "That's amazing."

"I thought I jumped the gun coming back here to play. So hearing you say that is encouraging, really." Kagami grinned broadly. "Life is all about challenges. There's no point in living if there's no one strong to play." He clenched his fist. "It's better if I can't win."

Kise blinked as he stared blankly at the red-head. _It's better if I can't win?_

"We're just getting started," He walked passed Kise. "Don't you think it's a little soon to be saying you? Besides, thanks to you, now I know your weakness."

Kise gaped at him in confusion. _What weakness?_

"I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to say it yourself." Kagami stops in front of Kuroko as he continued speaking to Kise. "You can do anything as long as you see it? How about when you can't see it, then? Against a guy who's already invisible, it's impossible."

He turned to look at Kise once more. "No matter how athletic you are, you'll never achieve an invisible basketball style. In other words…" He gripped Kuroko's head while grinning triumphantly. "This guy is your weakness."

Everyone stared at the court in astonishment. The weak point of Kise, who Kagami isn't even a match for, is the weakest guy on the court for anything other than passes….Kuroko!?

Finding his voice again, Kise scoffed, "So? It's true Kurokocchi's style is one that I can't imitate. But what does that change?"

_Fwee!_

"The first quarter is over! Take a two minute break!"

Kagami smirked. "It changes everything. We'll bring you to tears in the second quarter." He walked away from a frowning Kise.

* * *

"Damn, what's with that small point difference!?"

"They're closing the gap! Your fundamentals suck! Hands up! Screen out! Rebound! You're taller than them, so get the rebounds!"

Kise was hunched over tuning out the coach's voice. His focused eyes were looking down. Kagami had seemed so confident that Kurokocchi was his weak point. How could that possibly be? Because he couldn't copy his play style? Well, that would go for all the members of the Generation of Miracles so that was old news to him. Special ability aside, Kise bested Kurokocchi in all other aspects of basketball. Was there some kind of trick that they had up their sleeve?

"Let the second quarter begin!"

_Oh well, it doesn't really matter…_

He stood up.

_Regardless of what they throw at me, there's no way I could lose._

* * *

A/N: End of chapter four! Thank you for reading~ :3


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**

* * *

_A young girl pulled back the curtains to open the door to her balcony. She inhaled deeply, feeling the gentle breeze caress her cheeks as she stepped outside. _

_She gripped the railing and leaped over onto the opposite balcony with a grace that would make a ninja proud. She took a few steps forward and gazed through the transparent door. _

_She could see a small curled up figure that seemed to be wiping his face with his hands. She gently rapped on the window causing the figure to jerk in surprise. _

_He turned his head and she could vaguely see traces of tears staining his cheeks. She gave him a small wave and pointed to the doorknob. Although still stunned, he got up and let her in._

_"What are you doing here?" He mumbled looking away from her._

_"I heard you got hurt today, Yukio," She answered casually pretending to not notice his flinch. Now that she stood in front of him, she could see the small bruises and cuts that adorned his arms and legs._

_"…so what?" He gripped the side of his shorts._

_She frowned at his words. He still refused to look at her. She grabbed the collar of his shirt forcefully. "What did you fight about?"_

_"It's none of your business, Fukue," he grumbled still looking away._

_"Of course it's my business when my friend comes home with injuries on him!" She retorted angrily causing him to look at her with widened eyes. Her previous composure had faded away quite quickly._

_"It's just…" He looked away once more. "They were picking on me because of my height again."_

_Fukue released her grip on him, seeing that he was talking. "So…what are you gonna do now?"_

_"What do you mean?" He looked at her in confusion. _

_She folded her arms. "Are you gonna let them beat you up time and time again? Or are you finally gonna do something about?"_

_He frowned. But what could he do? They were taller, stronger, and full of confidence. How could he possibly win against them?_

_Fukue glowered as if reading his thoughts and pushed him forcefully causing him to tumble to the ground._

_"Wha-! What are you doing!?"_

_"Doing exactly what they did to you," She sneered as she gave him a kick to his side. "What are you gonna do about it~?"_

_Yukio could feel tears beginning to form at the corner of his eyes._

_"What, not gonna fight back, little weak Yuki-chan~?" She mocked as she gave another kick. _

_Yukio held himself tightly against her blows. Her words echoing in his ears causing a wave of contempt to wash over him. _

_Was he going to just let her do whatever she wanted?_

_Gritting his teeth, he grabbed her ankle and tugged forcefully which caused her to fall down._

_Like hell he would!_

_He crawled on top of her and delivered a blow to her cheek._

_"Don't call me Yuki-chan!"_

_She blinked in surprise at his sudden attack, and began to chuckle which soon turned into full blown laughter. Yukio caught himself in the middle of his second punch and stared unsure of how to react to her sudden change in demeanor._

_"So you can do it!" She rubbed the tears forming from her eyes as she laughed. "Looks like you can fight back."_

_He blinked as he looked at his fist. Before he had realized it, he had already thrown a punch at her. He lowered his fist. "So was all that just…"_

_"…an act," she finished with a cheeky grin while rubbing her now bruised cheek. "Damn Yukio, looks like you can pull quite the punch."_

_Yukio blinked once more and sighed. He could feel all the tension slipping from his body and dropped his weight on her._

_"Oof! You're also quite heavy Yuki-chan!"_

_"Don't call me Yuki-chan!" He grumbled, making no attempt to move. "You're really confusing you know that?"_

_"Why thank you~"_

_"It wasn't a compliment!"_

_She smiled softly as she lightly patted him on the back._

_"So you can do it…" She repeated looking at him._

_"I can…" He looked back at her offering a small grin of his own._

_"That's right!" She nodded before giving him a harsh smack to his back causing him to wince. _

_"So stop moping around and move forward!"_

* * *

_100 to 98._

He looked in disbelief, trying to make out the blurred numbers.

_I…lost?_

"For the first time in my life…" He muttered absentmindedly still staring at the scoreboard. "I lost…"

"Kise is crying?"

"Well, I understand it must be frustrating, but… it's still only a practice match…"

_…__Crying? Him?_

He touched his eyes in disbelief only to find that it was indeed wet. _Since when did they start falling?_

_Thwack!_

"You idiot! Stop crying." A heavy hit to his back caused Kise to stumble and look back at his captain.

"And you've got some balls to say you've never lost before. I'll hit you!" Yukio scowled. "And you'd better add the word 'revenge' to that empty dictionary of yours!"

Seeing the look of confidence on his captain's face, Kise nodded resolutely.

"Yes!"

* * *

Shortly after Seirin had left, the coach had unleashed his rage upon the regulars.

"What kind of game was that today, huh!?"

In the end, they had lost. Kuroko and Kagami's coordinated play had taken them by surprise and ended the game with a buzzer beater.

His tirade continued for several minutes before he stomped away in anger leaving behind a heavy silence.

Fukue silently looked at the regulars in front of her, with the absence of Kise.

"You lost," She bluntly stated as she carefully observed them.

Hayakawa flinched at the statement.

Moriyama looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kobori closed his eyes and let out a silent sigh.

Yukio said nothing as he returned her gaze.

"Do you know why?" She asked folding her arms.

"…Because they we[r]e st[r]ong?" Hayakawa looked at her meekly, so different from his usual heated attitude.

"But that's not all," she sighed running a hand through her messy hair.

"You underestimated them. Whether you guys realized it or not, you were overconfident. Overconfident because they were a small team. Overconfident because you recruited a member of the Generation of Miracles."

Yukio gritted his teeth and looked down. Her words stung, but he couldn't bring himself to snap back at the truth. At some point, they had come to rely on Kise like he could solve all their problems just by being there. The blonde's overconfident smile that knew nothing of defeat had unconsciously drawn them into thinking that they were invincible. They had grown lax and now they paid the price.

"You lost," she repeated, and look directly at Yukio's form.

"So stop moping around and move forward!"

Yukio's eyes widened at her her words.

A begrudging smirk made its way to his face as he remembered those same words from their fight so long ago. Although their brawl had brought him confidence, it had an unfortunate aftermath. They had woken up his parents who then called her mother which in turn led to a long night of lectures. He mentally shook his head, removing the remnants of that night from his mind.

_Though seriously… some parts of her just haven't changed at all._

He lifted his head, eyes resolute as he turned to the others.

"You guys! How long are you gonna keep on sulking!?" He clenched his fist tightly as they stared at him in wonder.

"This isn't over yet! We're just getting started! And next time we'll be the ones to leave victorious!"

He had said something similar to Kise just after the match had ended. At the time, his words of encouragement were forced out with anger and annoyance to hide his uneasiness, which luckily went unnoticed by his underclassman. This time, however, it was different. Now his words were filled with confidence and resolution.

"Yeah!" Grins made their way to their faces as they cheered. Their determination renewed by his words.

Fukue smiled as she watched them. Yukio had once told her that he didn't think that he was fit to be captain, but she had to disagree. He had passion that could draw people in and help them up.

In her opinion, there was no one more fitting to be captain than him.

* * *

"Um…"

Kise looked at the a beaming and grouchy faces of his upperclassmen sitting in front of him. He had run into them while they were exiting the convenience store and was suddenly dragged to Maji Burger by his oh-so-wonderful olive-haired upperclassman. He looked down at the plate of burgers with fries on top of them like candles on a cake, and then looked back at them.

"What exactly is this…?"

"Exactly what it looks like!" Fukue said still beaming with her hands cupping her face, leaning her weight on her elbows. "A celebration!"

He raised a brow in exasperation. A celebration? Since when did burger and fries as a makeshift cake count as a way of celebrating, plus… "I don't remember anything happening today that warrants a celebration, senpai."

"Nonsense!" She easily dismissed his words. "We're here to celebrate your first loss!"

Kise could feel an arrow piece his heart at the reminder and hung his head. "Senpai…no one celebrates losing…"

"Of course, it's something to celebrate~" She replied as she rummaged her bag. "It means the deflation of your gigantic ego, and that's always something to celebrate!"

Seeing that she can't be swayed, Kise desperately attempted to appeal to the more rational of the two. "Kasamatsu-senpai, are you just going to go along with this?"

Yukio merely shrugged as he sipped his soft drink. "Once she gets started, she can't be stopped. So why bother?"

Although, to be honest, the match with Seirin had been overly exhausting. He didn't have the energy to stop Fukue even if he wanted to.

Kise slumped in his chair in dismay. There goes his only ray of hope.

Finally finding the what she was looking for, Fukue looked at Kise and gave him another giant grin.

"Congratulations on your loss!"

_Pop!_

"What the-!" The poor boy almost had a heart-attack from the exploding popper.

"So, that's what you bought at the convenience store?" Yukio twitched as he watched Kise pull off the streamers and confetti that left the popper.

"Heheh~ Of course!" Fukue said looking quite triumphant. "I was planning on doing it at practice tomorrow, but since we ran into him today, I figured that the earlier the better~"

Yukio sighed feeling sorry for the blonde, but not sorry enough to actually help him out. "I'm going to head to the bathroom."

"Kaay~ Have fun~" She grinned with a small wave earning herself a smack across her head before he walked away.

"So how was your meeting?" Fukue asked finally looking serious.

"Meeting?" Kise echoed as he removed the last piece of confetti from his clothes, or at least what he hoped was the last piece. "With who?"

"With Kuroko obviously."

He looked at her in surprise. "How did you know?"

She snorted, "If it weren't for that reason, I'm pretty sure Yukio would've beaten the crap out of you the moment we saw you, since you skipped out on clean up."

Kise paled slightly at the thought. That was true….unfortunately.

"Well, I got to play with Kurokocchi today," Kise beamed in happiness as he fiddled with the straw in his drink.

"It's been so long since I've caught one of his passes, but…" He trailed off for a minuted before sighing and looking out the window. "As I thought, I still don't understand him."

"You know, he disappeared after the final tournament in junior high. I asked him why, and do you know what his answer was?" He continued as he watched people passed by him outside. "'I do not know'."

Kise let out a bitter chuckle. "Can you believe that? Like seriously!" His chuckles gradually faded as he laid his head on his arms.

"He said he hated basketball at the time…" He mumbled sadly before falling silent.

_Hated basketball huh…._ She plucked a fry from one of the burgers and popped it into her mouth. "Kise, have you ever hated basketball?"

Kise looked up at her from his arms and shook his head.

"Never. It was always fun playing and winning with everybody in Teiko," he said before bitterly adding. "But it seems that Kurokocchi didn't feel the same way…"

She hmm'd in response as she bit another fry. "Then you'll probably never understand."

"Then do you understand, senpai?" He asked challengingly, slightly irked by her unhelpful response.

"I-"

But before she could even say anything, Yukio came running back to their table and dragged the both of them by their collars out the door.

"Come on, you guys! We gotta get out of here!"

"Wait! What the-!"

"And is that Moriyama-senpai!?"

Moriyama had followed them with their bags in tow.

Yukio released his grip on them, and now they were all running side by side as fast as they can.

"The hell's going on!?" Fukue shouted annoyed that they left their food behind.

Kise looked behind them before sharply turning back forward in alarm. "And why are we being chase by an extremely burly woman!?"

Fukue risked taking a glance back. Indeed, there was an extremely burly woman chasing them at top speed.

"I'll tell you once we reach a safe place!" Moriyama shouted back as he sped up. "For now, less talking and more running!"

After a few minutes of running for their lives, they manage to lose their chaser the moment they turned several corners. They collapsed against the wall in exhaustion.

"So, mind telling us why we're being chased by a mad woman?" Kise panted.

Moriyama took a few deep breaths to control his breathing before he spoke.

"Well, you see… I met this beautiful maiden at Maji burger, and we had a wonderful conversation about basketball!" He clenched his fist as he looked into the distance reminiscing.

"I had thought that I had found my destined one!" He continued dreamily before his tone turn disheartened. "…Until I found out that she was a he." He sunk to his knees in depression.

"Then _she_ appeared," Moriyama gulped. "And it seemed that she wasn't too happy about me accidentally hitting on her boyfriend…"

"And then he bumped into me when I was exiting the bathroom, and well, you know the rest," Yukio finished.

"So we all ended up in this mess because you can't differentiate between genders, Moriyama?" Fukue groaned, putting an arm over her eyes.

"It's not my fault!" He desperately defended. "His beauty transcended the gender boundary!"

"Well, anyway, looks like we lost her, so it worked out alright," Kise said putting his hands up placatingly.

"_Who~ Lost~ Who~?"_

They paled as a giant shadow loomed over them. It seemed that Kise had spoken too soon.

…And thus, Kaijou suffered their second loss of the day.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello~ I'm glad that Fukue is well-liked so far. I try my best to make sure that she doesn't seem mary-sue since they often make me cringe. Thank you for the reviews, I'll take them into consideration. And as always, thank you for taking the time to read my fanfiction. :3


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**

* * *

"Hmmm~ Hm-Hm~ Hm-Hm~" Fukue hummed some random tune as she slipped on her shoes and swung her bag over her shoulder. She pulled the door open and was met with an arm hanging in the air ready to knock on her door.

Yukio blinked at the unexpected sight before him. Fukue was awake before his arrival? Was hell ready to freeze over?

"Nice bags," Fukue grinned as Yukio withdrew his raised arm. "Couldn't sleep?"

"I could say the same to you," Yukio scowled as he rubbed the dark bags below his eyes. "You look like a zombie."

"That's right," She grinned as she puffed out her chest. "I've risen from the dead~"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say," He rolled his eyes at her theatrics. "I'm surprised that you're actually up early for once. Especially since we don't have practice today." After blowing a fuse, the coach had left the gymnasium. But he came back a bit later seeming to have cooled his head a bit, and decided to give the regulars a day off to contemplate about yesterday's game. After all, it was a lost that gave them quite the wake up call.

"Well, what can I say? If I put my mind to it, I could do it."

"…In other words, I shouldn't expect the same from you tomorrow."

"You know me too well Yuki-chan~"

_Thwack!_

"Ow…"

…

The two upperclassmen stared in surprise as they watched the regulars practice drills. They had arrived at the gym a few minutes ago to find that there were people already there before them.

Kise, who had noticed their presence first, broke form and raised an arm in greeting, "Good morning Kasamatsu-senpai! Ichimiya-senpai!" The other members relaxed as well as the two approached them.

"I didn't expect you guys to be here today," Yukio commented folding his arms.

"Well, with how yesterday ended…." Kise trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "It was hard to just sit still and do nothing, so I asked Kobori-senpai to open the doors."

Kobori nodded solemnly. "Yesterday's defeat is not something we should take lightly."

"That's [r]ight!" Hayakawa shouted clenching his fist passionately. "We can't affo[r]d to lose next time!"

"Especially with the Interhigh Preliminaries coming up," Moriyama added before winking. "We gotta look good in front of the ladies who're coming to watch us play."

Fukue gave him a rather pointed stare causing Moriyama to sweat and look away. _Feels like he didn't learn his lesson at all…_

Yukio scoffed at Moriyama's words as he picked up a basketball that had rolled his way. "Since you guys are all so eager to get to work." He tossed the ball and it landed with a solid thud in Kise's hands.

"Don't complain once we get started."

* * *

"Good-mor-ning!"

Fukue stumbled forward a few steps at the sudden weight on her back. She peered backward to see a familiar grinning face. "Or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say good afternoon?"

"Mizuha," Fukue grunted as the smaller girl jumped down from her back. "You shouldn't jump on people as a greeting. What if you broke someone's back?"

"Don't worry. You're the only person I do that to," she reassured her with a cheery smile.

Fukue's eye twitched at her response as she continued walking. _It's my back that I'm worried about. _

Mizuha carefully observed the taller girl's face as they made their way to their way to the canteen. "For someone who didn't play in the game yesterday, you sure look exhausted."

"Well…" Fukue rubbed the back of her neck as she sighed heavily. "…A lot happened yesterday." By the end of yesterday, losing to Seirin felt like the least of their problems. She shuddered at the memory and mentally tucked it away far, far away in the back of her mind.

Mizuha tilted her head in curiosity before wisely deciding it was something that she probably would be better off not knowing. "By the way, is it true that the famous model Kise Ryouta cried on the court after the game?"

Fukue gave a snort at the comment. "Yep, he bawled like a baby."

"Could you not exaggerate things, senpai?" A voice sulkily interjected causing them to stop and turn around to see the very blonde from their conversation.

Fukue's lips quirked upward at his sudden appearance, "What part of it wasn't true?"

"All of it!" Kise pouted as he walked with them. "I just teared up a little, that's all."

"Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that," She shrugged unconcerned much to Kise's chagrin.

Kise sighed at her nonchalant attitude before turning toward her companion in interest. "Is this a friend of yours, senpai?"

"Well…" Fukue drawled as she glanced down at the shorter girl. "Something like that?"

"Jeez, no need to be so distant," Mizuha pouted before pushing up her glasses and smiling up at Kise. "Furihata Mizuha. Nice to meet you."

"Kise Ryouta," Kise nodded in response before cupping his chin thoughtfully. "'Furihata'? It feels like I've heard that name somewhere…"

Mizuha nodded smiling. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did. You did just face Seirin recently, and my younger brother is a member of their basketball club."

"Ah, I think I remember him," Fukue said nodding. "He kinda resembled a Chihuahua with those wide eyes of his."

"Pfft," Mizuha let out a laugh. "Yeah, well, unlike Chihuahuas, Kouki is a bit of a wimp."

The trio made their way to the canteen and stopped when they reached a crowd of students fighting to the death to claim a piece of bread.

Mizuha whistled in amazement. "A bloodbath as usual."

"Should we just wait for the crowd to dwindle down?" Kise asked surveying the group in front of him. He had no desire to jump in to only get knocked out.

"By the time the crowd thins out, the lunch period will be over," Mizuha frowned before turning to Fukue. "I guess it's best to do the usual, huh?"

"'The usual'?" Kise looked curiously at his olive-haired manager.

Fukue casually strolled over to the nearest student and tapped on his shoulder. The male student turned around in annoyance before paling as he squeaked in surprise. "I-Ichimiya-senpai!" Students who heard his shocked cry simultaneously turned around in alarm before dispersing in a matter of seconds.

Kise's jaws hung dumbfounded at the crowd's reaction. No matter how tall she might've been, he didn't think that she would be considered scary enough to dissipate a giant group of students.

"Surprised?" Mizuha giggled at his reaction. "I thought you would have heard of the story by now."

Kise looked at her in confusion. _Story?_

"It was during the opening ceremony," Mizuha began ominously as she pushed up her glasses. "Fukue came to school drenched in red when she bumped into a freshman. The sight of red liquid dripping down from her forehead, covering half her face and soaking her shirt scared the poor guy to tears and rumors have spread like wildfire ever since."

"Like what?" Kise questioned curiously.

Mizuha shrugged. "Like how she might be a part of the yakuza or how she killed someone and bathed in their blood and the like."

"None of which are true by the way. Although I can't deny how useful they can be," Fukue chimed in as she approached them with arms filled with a variety of bread. "In the end it was just red paint that spilled on to me when I accidentally bumped into some ladder on my way to school."

"I…see," Kise watched as Mizuha plucked a couple of bread from Fukue's arms. He reached to take some for himself only for his hand to grasp air when Fukue stepped away. She raised a brow. "Who said that you could have any?"

"Eh? I can't?" Kise asked with his hand still in midair.

"Impudent underclassmen like you should learn how to work for your own food," She stuck her tongue out mischievously. "Have fun~"

"Ehhhhh?!"

Fukue gave a half-hearted wave goodbye as she left with Mizuha.

Kise's shoulders drooped in dismay as he turned back around only to find that the crowd has reformed after her exit.

"You've got to be kidding me, right?"

...

"Mmm, that feels nice," Mizuha stretched her arms towards the sky and leaned against the railing as a gentle breeze played with her chestnut hued braids. She turned to look at Fukue who made herself comfortable on the ground. "By the way, don't you think you were a bit too cold towards the guy?"

"Not at all~," Fukue grinned as she took a bite of her yakisoba bread. "He needs to learn how to work for what he wants."

"Training sessions aren't enough work?" Mizuha settled herself down next to her and opened up her bag of melon bread.

"For someone who usually has things handed to him without putting in much effort, training sessions are only the tip of the ice berg," Fukue gazed at the clouds. "He needs to learn to put himself out there no matter how uncool he may look and learn to appreciate the people around him who can support him."

"Well, if you say so," Mizuha chewed thoughtfully. "You have a strange way of showing you care."

"Care?" Fukue glanced at her in surprise. "Is that what it seems like?"

"Isn't it?" She leaned towards Fukue excitedly. "You care deeply for him, but you don't know how to express your feelings so you end up being cold towards him as a cover?!"

"Oi… you need to stop your ridiculous fantasizing, you know?" Fukue said dryly as she finished her bread. "The only thing I care about is bringing down his big ego so he won't hinder the team with his own selfishness."

_Honestly, I can't tell if you're being selfish or selfless. _Mizuha sighed before perking up. "By the way, you don't have club activities after school today right?"

Fukue looked at her curiously before slowly shaking her head. "I don't but…"

"Great!" Mizuha cheerfully clapped her hands together. "Let's hang out after school then!"

* * *

"Nanbu Department Store?"

Fukue stared at the giant towering building before her in the ever-busy Shibuya. "Why exactly are we here?"

"I heard there was a sale on cameras today~" Mizuha beamed excitedly as they entered through the automatic doors. "I've been wanting to check it out."

_A sale on cameras, huh?_ Fukue mused as she followed the animated girl into the elevator. Guess she shouldn't be too surprised; Mizuha _is_ the president of the photography club after all.

_Ding!_

The elevator came to a stop and Mizuha hurriedly pulled her along until they finally entered the technology store. The moment they walked through the doors, Mizuha let out a excited shriek before running off leaving Fukue to blink in astonishment. _What was the point of dragging me here if you're just going to leave me hanging?_

Having been left alone, Fukue casually strolled around the aisles in boredom until a flash of red and blue caught the corner of her eye. Peering out the window she spotted a familiar set of heads that she had met the other day. Grinning at the unexpected encounter she exited the store and threw her arms around their shoulders causing them to jump in surprise.

"Hey! Who would've thought that we would run into each other huh?" She grinned at their startled expressions. "So what has brought the KuroKaga Combo to Shibuya?"

"Y-you! You're here too!?" Kagami sputtered looking quite panicked for some reason.

"It's nice to see you again, Ichimiya-san," Kuroko greeted before adding. "Although I'd prefer it if you didn't refer to us as a set."

"'Too'?" Fukue parroted as she released them from her grip. "Is there someone else I should be aware of?"

"We just saw Kis-" Kuroko began only to be interrupted by an all too familiar 'Kurokochiiiiiii~~".

"Geh! He's back!" Kagami yelled. "We gotta get out of here, Kuroko!" He swiveled around to grab hold of him only to find the spot void of his teammate.

"Damn it! Kuroko that bastard!" Kagami cursed. "He disappeared off by himself again!" He ran off leaving a puzzled Fukue behind.

"Oi Kagamicchi! Kurokocchi! Wait for me!" Kise hollered running before he came to a stop when he caught sight of the olive haired girl. "Eh? Senpai, what are you doing here?"

"Just accompanying Mizuha shopping," Fukue looked at him curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, I just finished a modeling job in the area, so I thought I'd maybe do some shopping on the way," Kise replied before adding. "Oh, and Kasamatsu-senpai's here too."

"Yukio? What's he doing in Shibuya?" Fukue looked at him curiously.

Kise nodded. "Seems he's here for some sale on athletic shoes."

"I see…" She remarked. "So what did you do to have Kagami and Kuroko running away from you?"

"Oh yeah!" Kise perked up as if suddenly recalling the sole reason he was there in the first place. "I gotta go after them!" Without bothering to answer her question, he shouted a short goodbye and ran off in Kagami's direction.

Fukue ruffled her hair in annoyance. "Jeez, every one of them seems to be in a hurry." She turned around to walk back into the store before she colliding with someone. She glanced down in surprise. "Kuroko? What are you still doing here?"

The short blue haired teen merely blinked owlishly. "But I've been here this whole time?"

"…" Fukue face palmed. _Of course, misdirection._ "Well, shall we go look for Kagami together then?"

"You don't have to go through the trouble, Ichimiya-san," Kuroko said. "You're here with someone aren't you?"

"Don't worry about that," Fukue smiled tousling his hair much to Kuroko's dismay. "She'll probably spend three or four hours in there, without even noticing that I'm gone and when she does, she could always just call me."

They decided it would be best to just walk around until they spot Kagami rather than waste energy running around.

"So what brought you here in the first place?" Fukue asked with interest.

"Kagami-kun wanted to buy new sneakers," Kuroko answered sighing. "And he decided to drag me along."

"So how did that turn into running away from Kise?"

"Well… I'm not even sure myself. Kagami-kun suddenly decided to run away after we met Kise-kun and Kasamatsu-san."

"Must've been rough…"

"I can't bring myself to deny that…"

They continued walking bypassing various boutiques and restaurants. The comfortable silence lasted a while before Kuroko unexpectedly spoke up.

"Ichimiya-san, do you play basketball?"

Fukue looked at him in surprise. "Where'd that question come from?"

"Ah, sorry for asking something like that out of the blue," Kuroko apologized bowing his head slightly. "I couldn't help but notice the callouses on your hands and you're really tall as well, so I was kind of wondering…"

"I see…" Fukue watched as a pair of children ran passed them giggling. "Well, I suppose you're not wrong. I did play basketball."

_Did? _Kuroko stared at her unabashedly. "Not anymore?"

"You could say that," She nonchalantly fiddled with a few strands of her hair.

"Do you…" He paused for a moment seeming to hesitate before speaking again. "…Not like basketball anymore?"

Her hand paused its fiddling and she glanced down at him. His gaze staring straight at her betraying nothing of what he might be thinking. She leaned against the railing as she realized that they had stopped walking at some point.

"On the contrary, I like it quite a lot," Fukue smiled wistfully as she watched people walking about on the floor below them. "But sometimes, forces beyond our control stops us from doing the things we love."

"Is that so…" Kuroko silently took in her words as he stood next to her gazing down.

"What about you? Do you like basketball?"

Kuroko blinked, not expecting her to redirect the question at him. "I like basketball," He stated without hesitation.

"Even when you were in Teiko?" She asked casually casting him a side-glance.

His usually indifferent expression faltered slightly before regaining composure. "Kise-kun said something about it?"

She gave a slight shrug. "Not much. Just that you hated basketball at the time and left the team."

"I see…" Kuroko made no attempt to answer her question, and she didn't bother prying him for one.

Instead, they let a thoughtful silence stretch between them for a while before Fukue straightened herself up. "Shall we continue looking for Kagami?" Kuroko nodded in response.

"Fukue?" A voice called out immediately thereafter. Fukue turned around to see a surprised Yukio approaching them.

"Oh, hey Yukio," She gave a carefree wave. "Kise mentioned that you were around."

"What are you doing here? And with…" His gaze wandered to the shorter of the two. "Kuroko? Weren't you with Kagami?"

"I was, but he suddenly ran off when Kise-kun spotted him," Kuroko said.

"Ah, speaking of which," Yukio crossed his arms. "Why were you guys in such a hurry to run? Did something happen?"

Kuroko shrugged. "Kagami-kun didn't really get the chance to explain it to me either."

The three of them contemplated quietly for a reason why Kagami would run from Kise. It must have been something that happened at the match the other day… Something so drastic that it would cause anyone to flee in fear…

"Ah," Kuroko suddenly spoke up catching their attention. "The broken hoop…"

.

.

.

"Pfft! Hahah!" Fukue made no attempt to cover her laughter. "Yeah, anyone would want to run if they thought that they had to cough up money that they don't have!"

Yukio smacked the back of her head. "You're laughing way too much." He turned to Kuroko. "I guess we should go find him and clear up the misunderstanding. We've already spoken to the principal of your school and settled everything. And even though he did broke the hoop, the fault lies with us for not removing such worn out equipment to begin with."

Fukue wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yep, so there's no need to worry about it."

_Vrrr…vrrr…_

Feeling the sudden vibration in her pocket, she glanced at her phone. _Huh, a text. _

_Frm: Mizuha_

_Sub: Done with shopping._

_Where are you?_

Just as she was about to type in a reply, she spotted the chestnut hair girl from a distance.

"Mizuha!" Fukue shouted as she waved.

Mizuha easily spotted the tall form of her friend and drew closer. "So this is where you've been." She looked at the two beside her.

"Hello, Kasamatsu-kun," she nodded toward Yukio who looked away uncomfortably and awkwardly stuttered something akin to a greeting. Unfazed by his behavior, she looked at Kuroko and introduced herself. Kuroko seemed a bit surprised at the unexpected relation to his teammate, but quickly introduced himself as well.

"So what are you guys up to?" Mizuha asks as they began to walk.

"We're off to find Kagami," Fukue answers pointing at Kuroko. "His teammate."

"Find?" Mizuha blinks. "He got lost?"

Her words cause Fukue to let out a snicker. "Nah, more like ran away."

"Umm, I don't think Kagami-kun will be too happy if he heard you guys speak of him like some rebellious child," Kuroko chimed in, yet despite his words his eyes glimmered with amusement.

Mizuha giggled, "So how does this 'Kagami-kun' look like?"

"Tall, red hair, with some interesting looking eyebrows," Fukue listed as the escalator brought them to the next floor.

"Oh!" Mizuha's eyes lit up. "I think I saw someone like that run in the direction of the outdoors department."

The four of them rushed to the outdoors department. When they arrived, they could see all kinds of items ranging from camping gear to skiing equipment. Among that they spot a tuft of golden blonde.

"Oi, Kise!" Yukio called out causing the blonde to perk up.

"Oh, Kasamatsu-senpai," He walked towards us before taking a step back when he spotted his former teammate. "Ehhh?! And Kurokocchi!?"

"Hello, Kise-kun," Kuroko nodded.

"But why-!" But before Kise could finish speaking, a familiar red head burst out from a tent nearby. "So that's where you were Kuroko! And what are you doing with them!"

.

.

.

"Pfft, ahahahahahaha!" Really, Fukue didn't think her stomach could take it anymore after today. Kagami's angry head sticking out of a tiny tent was just too much to bear.

Realizing that he just gave himself away, Kagami quickly tried to make a run for it with Kuroko, but was grabbed by Kise and Yukio.

"Calm down, Kagami-kun," Kuroko tried to placate the agitated red head. "I think you might be misunderstanding something."

Kagami stopped his struggling. "What?"

Yukio quickly explained the situation and Kagami let out a sigh of both aggravation and relief. "Damn it coach! Why couldn't you have told us that!?"

"So that's what it was," Kise sniffed feeling relieved as he looked at Kuroko. "I've been crying because I thought you hated me! And now I'm tearing up again because I'm so relieved…"

"Heh, that's so lame," Kagami snorted.

"Crybaby," Fukue added snickering.

_Click!_

Mizuha smiled triumphantly. "That'll definitely sell among the fans."

"You guys are so mean!" Kise cried out. "And you got to go through my agency if you want to take pictures!" His words cause Mizuha to click her tongue in annoyance.

"Well, more importantly, now that that is settled," Yukio interrupted. "If we don't hurry–"

_Dong! Dong! Dong!_

_"I have an announcement for our customers,"_ the department store's PA system sounded._ "As a result of your patronage, the special sale on sports shoes in the sports department on the tenth floor has sold out and will now come to an end." _

Another chime signified the end of the announcement.

"Kiiiiiseeee–!" Yukio growled while glowering at the blonde.

"Uhhh…yes?" Kise squeaked in fear.

"We missed our chance and it's all your fault! Eat this – dropkick!"

But before his foot could make contact with Kise, a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders stopping him in place. Yukio looked back to see that it was Fukue who stopped him.

"As much as I would love to see you pummel Kise," Fukue sweated a bit under his glare. "It wouldn't help anyone if it resulted in him crashing into any of the things here." Seeing the logic in her words, Yukio reluctantly complied.

_Good job, Ichimiya-senpai!_ Kise mentally cheered as he removed himself from behind Kuroko. Although the relief was quite short-lived as he felt a shiver crawl up his spine when his captain shot him a glare that promised him double or, the more likely, triple the training.

"So now what?" Kuroko asked. They all looked at each other blankly now that the tension has faded.

"Well, since we're all here, why don't we grab some ramen or something?" Yukio suggested.

"Oh, I second that!"

"Heheh, let's go Kurokocchi!"

"Please let go of me, Kise-kun."

"See? Your overly attached boyfriend side is coming out Kise."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm only interested in girls, Ichimiya-senpai!?"

_Click!_

"Now this is another picture that would totally sell~"

"Didn't I already say that you can't take any pictures!"

"I never knew you swung that way Kise."

"Waah~ Not you too Kasamatsu-senpai!"

* * *

A/N: Hello~ I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've updated! ｍ（｡≧ _ ≦｡）ｍ

Real life has decided to keep me busy so I haven't had much time to write. So, I would like to apologize in advance if the next chapter takes a long time.

I hope you guys weren't too disappointed with this chapter.

I've introduced a new character but… nothing productive really happened? （￣□￣；）But I hope it at least made you guys smile a bit. (＾▽＾)

Thank you for reading~ I'll see you guys next time! (´▽ ` )ﾉ


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